Speedship by WWEX

Unifying Two Broker Systems and a Company Culture Through Design

Role:
Product Design Lead – User Research, Product Architecture and Visual Design System

Team:
6 UX + 2 Client UX
1 PM
4 FE
3 BE

Timeline:
1.5 years

Impact:
National research initiative · Lead team of 8 · Org-wide design principles · Laid foundation for FTL workflows resulting in $4B merger

In 2018, Worldwide Express merged with Unishippers, prompting the unification of their small parcel and LTL shipment systems into one scalable, white-label-ready platform.

Early planning exposed a core issue: leadership lacked clarity on who their customers were—or how the product would support them and streamline internal operations.

My Role

  • Led product design strategy and architecture, serving as the primary design partner on the Speedship initiative.

  • Co-led a national research initiative, guiding user interviews, contextual inquiries and affinity diagramming across the U.S.

  • Developed foundational design assets that transformed the organization’s understanding of its users including architecture and systems

  • Influenced executive mindset and cross-functional priorities, ensuring product strategy was informed by external realities vs internal assumptions.

This was an organizational identity challenge, and I helped reposition the entire initiative to keep users at the center.

The initial 1500 requirements served as a working doc -
of which we validated and mapped opportunities

The initial 1500 requirements served as a working doc - of which we validated and mapped opportunities

Massive Overhaul!

WWEX had an incredibly long list of desired features but lacked alignment around a shared vision for the user. With two legacy platforms to reconcile, the team faced multiple pressures:

  • Resolve conflicting assumptions about who the users were

  • Reduce risks in a high-investment development roadmap

  • Establish scalable workflows to support future ambitions of expansion into Full Truckload (FTL) shipments

  • Bridge cultural differences between two merged organizations

Initially, executives were confident in their perspective. Research was seen as optional. My goal swiftly became to shift that thinking and mitigate risk in development cycles.

Strategic Insight

The findings were consistent—and impossible to ignore:

  • Users didn’t want more features. They needed better orientation and clearer guidance as In-product onboarding was ineffective, creating blind spots during account setup and training

  • Inputs were equally painful for frequent and infrequent users, for different reasons.

  • Support teams were overwhelmed, fielding unnecessary volumes of tickets caused by poor user experience.

These insights were a blind spot for leadership assumptions, but when early contextual data points were presented, the data could not be dismissed.

Execution

Collaborative Discovery

Comprehensive Research

I worked alongside a researcher - co-leading a months-long, nationwide research effort of in-depth interviews, and contextual inquiries. Businesses large and small, differing verticals, and internal roles all had input.

Collaborative Discovery

Comprehensive Research

I worked alongside a researcher - co-leading a months-long, nationwide research effort of in-depth interviews, and contextual inquiries. Businesses large and small, differing verticals, and internal roles all had input.

Collaborative Discovery

Comprehensive Research

I worked alongside a researcher - co-leading a months-long, nationwide research effort of in-depth interviews, and contextual inquiries. Businesses large and small, differing verticals, and internal roles all had input.

Opportunity Generation

Actionable Insights

The research garnered some 16,000+ data points. The story to be told is that some themes were completely omitted from the original requirements, and we had to back it up with hard data.

Opportunity Generation

Actionable Insights

The research garnered some 16,000+ data points. The story to be told is that some themes were completely omitted from the original requirements, and we had to back it up with hard data.

Opportunity Generation

Actionable Insights

The research garnered some 16,000+ data points. The story to be told is that some themes were completely omitted from the original requirements, and we had to back it up with hard data.

Facilitate Focus

Leveraging Alignment

Workshops and other deeply collaborative exercises were employed to ensure all adequate stakeholders had their input captured and were kept updated on the progress.

Facilitate Focus

Leveraging Alignment

Workshops and other deeply collaborative exercises were employed to ensure all adequate stakeholders had their input captured and were kept updated on the progress.

Facilitate Focus

Leveraging Alignment

Workshops and other deeply collaborative exercises were employed to ensure all adequate stakeholders had their input captured and were kept updated on the progress.

Content Strategy

Mutually Beneficial Architecture

Leveraging the data learned from the early phases of discovery along with partnership of internal operations teams, the site structure and design system to support the necessary workflows aligned with the needs of users, and the ease of implementation.

Content Strategy

Mutually Beneficial Architecture

Leveraging the data learned from the early phases of discovery along with partnership of internal operations teams, the site structure and design system to support the necessary workflows aligned with the needs of users, and the ease of implementation.

Content Strategy

Mutually Beneficial Architecture

Leveraging the data learned from the early phases of discovery along with partnership of internal operations teams, the site structure and design system to support the necessary workflows aligned with the needs of users, and the ease of implementation.

Future-Facing

Enabling Vision

Working closely the CTO, VP of Engineering and Program Manager at WWEX, I provided artifacts and inclusive story-telling to build strategic momentum and excitement for the long-term vision.

Future-Facing

Enabling Vision

Working closely the CTO, VP of Engineering and Program Manager at WWEX, I provided artifacts and inclusive story-telling to build strategic momentum and excitement for the long-term vision.

Future-Facing

Enabling Vision

Working closely the CTO, VP of Engineering and Program Manager at WWEX, I provided artifacts and inclusive story-telling to build strategic momentum and excitement for the long-term vision.

Outcomes

  • Design principles and persona became embedded in the culture, used across meetings, printed on posters, presented in national conferences and adopted far beyond the product org

  • Executive and stakeholder alignment shifted, with product planning and prioritization now grounded in user needs. (In fact, their trust grew so much I was asked to return to the project after being reassigned to Sprint - to assist them in rigorous prioritization work at the beginning of 2020.)

  • Reduced onboarding friction and improved support operations, as clearer workflows led to fewer misaligned interactions, and internal flows were given adequate attention and investment.

  • Platform formed the basis of WWEX’s eventual merger with GlobalTranz, enabling the formation of a $4B logistics platform

Validation

Multiple workflows tested with real users for usability and desirability.

Reflection

This project was about more than building a unified product. It was about building a unified vision.

By reframing discovery as a strategic asset—not just a design step—we helped WWEX understand its users, recalibrate its roadmap, and set the stage for significant growth.

Design leadership isn’t solely about the pixels or flows,
it’s about helping teams see what they’re missing
and giving them the tools to act on it.

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